Funny: The Book

David Misch likes to make people laugh – and to understand why they laugh. There’s something very Jewish about that.

David Misch grew up in Chicago in a primarily Jewish suburb. In college he started “playing around with the guitar” so friends encouraged him to perform at the local coffee house. “My friends laughed uproariously,” David recalls, “or at least that’s the way I remember it. So thence commenced five years of being a performer.”

David’s career in comedy began as a humorous folk singer releasing a song called “Somerville” to national acclaim, and soon after he became a stand-up comedian.

“My friends laughed uproariously -- or at least that’s the way I remember it.”

While David was succeeding as a stand-up comedian, something was missing. “I wasn’t the stand-up comedian type. My favorite reaction wasn’t all out laughter, but people nodding their heads saying ‘Hey, that’s really good.’” So his manager decided to send some of David’s writing samples to a few television shows and that landed him a writing gig on the show Mork & Mindy. “When I first heard about it – that it was about an alien living in Colorado – I thought it sounded stupid. But my manager told me not to worry – that it was starring this really funny young comedian named Robin Williams who would be a standout star.” Mental note -- always listen to your manager.

From there David developed to a successful career, writing for NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, UPN, HBO, Showtime, PBS, ABC Family, Disney, Universal and Lifetime. He sold a number of screenplays and worked with Jim Henson and Frank Oz as a special consultant on the film, The Muppets Take Manhattan.

Despite his success in writing comedy, he always felt a need to dig deeper. He didn’t just want to do comedy, he wanted to study comedy. Or more accurately, teach it. “There were a lot of screenwriting courses out there and even some that touched on comedy,” says David, “but none that studied comedy itself, taking a macro view of comedy as a discipline.” The result was his course given at the University of Southern California’s School for Cinematic Arts, titled, Practical Foundations of Comedy.

The course ultimately resulted in David publishing a book titled Funny: The Book. In it he discusses topics ranging from the history of comedy, to the common comic archetypes, and even what makes something funny. It’s a comprehensive survey of comedy. In Jewish terms, he gets into the kishkes of comedy. David admits that there’s something very Jewish about what he’s done. “When I like something I want to take it apart and understand it. And as a people, I think that’s how we Jews operate. Over our history, we’ve studied, picked things apart and debated them, and that’s what I’ve done with this book.”

In his book David also explores the oft-asked question: Why are Jews so funny?

“…by the ’70s, it was estimated that Jews made up about 3 percent of the US population . . . and 80 percent of professional comedians. Their humor emerged from Jewish traditions. The Jewish holy book, the Talmud, uses intricate, elaborate arguments… and absurd situations (think of the role of nonsense and whimsy in comedy) to tease out the mean­ing of religious dictates.

Jewish satire may have sprung from the egalitarian nature of Eastern European communities, where the powerful were mocked subtly rather than attacked overtly. There were even Jewish jest­ers: badchonim were hired for weddings to poke fun at prominent members of the community—they mocked rabbis, rulers, and rich people. “

David adds that perhaps the biggest influence on Jewish humor is Jewish history. He quotes Nobel Prize winning Saul Bellow who said, “Oppressed people tend to be witty,” and comedian Mel Brooks who remarked, “My comedy comes from the feeling that as a Jew, even though you’re better and smarter, you’ll never belong.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, David has found an audience for his book in the Jewish community. The Jewish Book Council is an organization with a simple mandate – to promote Jewish books. They hold a yearly gathering where authors of Jewish books present to approximately 300 representatives of Jewish book clubs, Jewish schools, synagogues etc. David believes that his book was well received at the convention, “I think I did well because the lineup for my night was either cookbooks or holocaust memoirs. So I think people were ready for some comic relief.”

David will be visiting a number of Jewish communities across America over the year, under the auspices of the Jewish Book Council. “I was just in Montogmery Alabama visiting the Jewish community there. They were so hospitable. I hope the rest of the cities will be like that!”

David admits that without his Jewish background, he wouldn’t have been able to take on this project. “Being Jewish gives me a certain sensibility. It encourages me to take things apart, analyze them, and understand what makes them work. This has allowed me to take comedy seriously and appreciate it for the art form that it truly is.”

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Visitor Comments: 2

(2)
Gary Katz,
October 31, 2012 8:00 PM

Besides, laughter is good for you

I think it's a survival mechanism. It's a medical fact that laughter is good for your mental and physical health. If you can cope with adversity with a sense of humor, you increase your chances of surviving the adversity. So more of the Jews who survived the pogroms and inquisitions probably had or developed good senses of humor. An unfortunate form of natural selection was at work, but look where it left the Jewish people: funny over-achievers. That's not so bad!

(1)
Shashi Ishai,
October 30, 2012 2:00 PM

Will Israel be a stop on your book promoting

There are large anglo communities who would love to hear someone like you..the only trouble is, we are in Israel. I am from Netanya, and let me be the first to invite you here to promote your book. And let me be the first to be your Shabbat hostess.

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I want to know about the concept of "sin" due to Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of Knowledge. The Christian concept of sin revolves around the fall of the man and the "original sin." Does Judaism view it the same way?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Adam and Eve were punished according to their actions. In other words, God laid down the conditions for Adam and Eve to live in the garden, provided they would not eat from the Tree of Knowledge. However, if they were to eat from that tree they would be punished by experiencing death. (If they had not eaten from the tree, they would have remained immortal.)

This sets down the basic principle in Judaism of Reward and Punishment. Basic to this is that every person has the choice of doing good or bad. When a person chooses "good" – as defined by God – he is able to draw close to God. In other words, every individual has a chance to "gain salvation" through his own actions.

My understanding of Christianity, however, is that the Original Sin has infected all of mankind to the point where individuals are incapable of achieving salvation through their own initiative. Man is "totally depraved" and therefore his only hope of salvation is through the cross.

This belief is contrary to the teachings of Judaism. From the Torah perspective, an individual does not need to rely on anyone else to atone for them. In Judaism, sins can be "erased" altogether by sincere repentance and a firm resolution never to repeat the mistakes.

For more on this, read "Their Hollow Inheritances" by Michael Drazin – www.drazin.com

Yahrtzeit of Moses in 1273 BCE (Jewish year 2488), on the same day of his birth 120 years earlier. (Consequently, "May you live to 120" has become a common Jewish blessing.) Moses was born in Egypt at a time when Pharaoh had decreed that all Jewish baby boys be drowned in the Nile River. His mother set him afloat in a reed basket, where he was -- most ironically -- discovered by Pharaoh's daughter and brought to Pharaoh's palace to be raised. When Moses matured, his heart turned to aid the Jewish people; he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Jew, and he fled to Midian where he married and had two sons. God spoke to Moses at the Burning Bush, instructing him to return to Egypt and persuade Pharaoh to "let My people go." Moses led the Jews through the ten plagues, the Exodus, and the splitting of the Red Sea. Seven weeks later, the Jews arrived at Mount Sinai and received the Torah, the only time in human history that an entire nation experienced Divine revelation. Over the next 40 years, Moses led the Jews through wanderings in the desert, and supervised construction of the Tabernacle. Moses died before being allowed to enter the promised Land of Israel. He is regarded as the greatest prophet of all time.

Lack of gratitude is at the root of discontent. In order to be consistently serene, we must master the attribute of being grateful to the Creator for all His gifts. As the Torah (Deuteronomy 26:11) states, "Rejoice with all the good the Almighty has given you." This does not negate our wanting more. But it does mean that we have a constant feeling of gratitude since as long as we are alive, we always have a list of things for which to be grateful.

[Just before Moses' death] God said to him, "This is the Land that I promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob" (Deuteronomy 34:4).

The Midrash says that Moses pleaded to live long enough to be able to enter the Promised Land. He surrendered his soul only after God instructed him to enter Heaven and inform the Patriarchs that the Israelites had come to their Land and that God had indeed fulfilled His promise to give the Land of Israel to their descendants. To fulfill God's will was dearer to Moses than his craving to enter the Land.

It is only natural to cling to life, and the thought of leaving this world is depressing. However, if a person develops the attitude that he lives only in order to fulfill God's will, then life and death are no longer polar opposites, because he lives to do the will of God, and when that will requires that he leave this world, he will be equally obedient.

The seventh day of Adar is the anniversary of Moses' death. He wanted to enter the Promised Land so that he could fulfill the commandments and thereby have a new opportunity to fulfill the Divine wish. He surrendered his soul willingly when he was told that there was a special commandment for him to perform, one that could only be achieved after leaving this earth.

We refer to Moses as Rabbeinu, our teacher. He not only taught us didactically, but by means of everything he did in his life - and by his death, as well.

Today I shall...

try to dedicate my life to fulfilling the will of God, so that even when that will contradicts my personal desires, I can accept it with serenity.

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